I’m considering going on a spending moratorium for a month, which means not buying anything at all except groceries and gasoline. The experiment would push me to find creative ways to get around purchasing things. What can I reuse or repurpose? What can I do without? But there are three major loopholes that make me think this experiment is not worth conducting. http://www.bargainbabe.com
Cheap beef source: buy directly from the farmer
Here’s a way to lower your grocery bill that I had not considered. Instead of buying meat from the butcher, buy part of a cow from a farmer. http://www.bargainbabe.com
Are delivered groceries a deal?
Every month or so a fantastic catalog arrives in my mail for Yummy.com, a grocery delivery store. And every time the nearly edible pictures convince me to place an order – until I see the prices. But how much more expensive is Yummy? And does the time savings make up for higher prices? http://www.bargainbabe.com
Find a better bank to save money
I like this site, FindABetterBank.com. The site looks at where you live, the features you want, and your banking habits to suggest a checking account with the lowest fees. http://www.bargainbabe.com
Would you work for Wal-Mart?
Wal-Mart is hiring 22,000 workers across the country, including 1,000 or more workers in Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, South Carolina, Utah and Virginia,” according to a CNN story. Because of the recession, however, I’m wondering if people are applying for and taking jobs they wouldn’t otherwise consider. http://www.bargainbabe.com
Why traditional budgeting is WRONG
Most budgets look backwards. You pull out your bills and receipts from the past month and add up what you spent. That number indicates how much you will spend this month, right? Wrong! A better budget looks forward. http://www.bargainbabe.com
Saving money on student loans
Two major changes are coming to Perkins, Stafford and Grad Plus student loans starting July 1. To get the details, I interviewed my friend, Bill Penn, who gives legal advice to students at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, OR. http://www.bargainbabe.com
The dirty truth about Subway’s free $2 gift cards
I was so pleased to receive a $2 gift card from Subway in the mail yesterday. I had signed up for it as part of a lawsuit settlement that said the sandwich chain had to give out 142,000 $2 gift cards to California residents in February. Then I tried to use the card. http://www.bargainbabe.com
How do you get out of pricey social committments?
Money comes up all the time these days, but often in uncomfortable situations. One person wants to splurge, another is counting every penny. How to you handle it? I turned to…http://www.bargainbabe.com
Why do we buy things we don’t need?
I wrote a fabulous post about why we overspend and rack up monstrous credit card debt for a blog called Man V Debt. Read my post here. http://www.bargainbabe.com
UPDATE: Bargain ethics when it comes to parking tickets
My friend got a parking ticket while having dinner with me. Should I offer to pay half the ticket? Vote at http://www.bargainbabe.com
Extreme marketing: job loss refunds
When deep discounts and buy-one-get-one free offers did not get customers in the door, businesses started offering refunds and “worry-free” guarantees in case of job loss. http://www.bargainbabe.com
Too much of a good thing? Or another free $100?
A reader named Glenn wrote in with a pressing financial dilemma. Should he once again take advantage of a free $100 for setting up a bank account? Weigh in at http://www.bargainbabe.com
Getting your partner to spend less
Couples spend differently and we don’t always spend the same amount of money, which is where it gets tricky. So how does a couple reconcile spending habits? Tips at http://www.bargainbabe.com
Postage rates going up – buy Forever stamps now?!
The United States Post Office is raising their rates May 11, 2009, from 42 to 44 cents for a first class letter. You can buy Forever stamps now and use them after the rate hike, however. This saves you two cents per letter, or about a half of a percent. So is it worth it to hoard Forever stamps? http://www.bargainbabe.com